mr.tourette23 Posted October 29, 2023 Report Share Posted October 29, 2023 I've always had a Royals refurb on my weekend toys, it's a great way to lift the interior and for me I've always found it worth spending on.. That said I have the standard multifunction wheel with the odd button system, I'd love to do the sports wheel upgrade but I'm struggling to justify a 1500 spend on it, my plan is to keep this car for 3 years and move onto either a supremely well specced S or a GTS and I can't help but feel it wouldn't be money well spent.. Is the sports wheel with paddles a really worthwhile upgrade or would I be better off just having the Royals refurb on my standard wheel? I'm kinda used to the button system now but mostly I just drive full auto anyway, would I be more likely to use the paddles just because they're a bit more intuitive? I'm not sure the best way to go.. Is there any market for the old steering wheel if I do upgrade to recoup a bit of cost? Would love to hear opinions from those who have done it or equally indeed happy to be told its not a great way to spend on modding a base car Cheers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cozzykim Posted October 29, 2023 Report Share Posted October 29, 2023 I haven't had the standard thumb switches on a Boxster but I did have the very similar versions on two previous Saabs and never ever used them, just left it in auto. I do use the sports paddles on my 981, and made certain that they were a 'must have' when I was looking for the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz05 Posted October 29, 2023 Report Share Posted October 29, 2023 Porsche parts, particularly steering wheels are safer than putting your money in the bank, buy a 718 wheel and airbag, possible to source for under £1k and you'll get it back minus fees as long as you keep the original wheel. Your next car will probably be a Porsche anyway so you can take it with you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spook Posted October 29, 2023 Report Share Posted October 29, 2023 I did it, and sold both the original airbag and steering wheel without too much trouble. Well worthwhile upgrade, the original button steering wheel is an ugly old thing and the replacement 718 wheel lifts the interior ambience immeasurably (paddles are great too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topbox Posted October 29, 2023 Report Share Posted October 29, 2023 Well it's all subjective but the only reason in my eyes to change to a sports wheel with paddles is because they look better. I have a button wheel and find them easy to use, and really don't understand why people are sniffy about them from a functionality pov, but it's not the best looking wheel I would agree. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxer boy Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 (edited) Can’t see any recouping of £ .Like any extra on a second hand car the values evaporate.More so with age and millage . I had flappy paddles on my Ferrari 360 M ( was all the rage back in the day and Ferrari / Alfa brought the technology to road cars ) Regretted it in the end preferred the involvement of of stick like my Testarossa. current favourite F car is a old fashioned 70 s carburettor GT 4 …..that’s another tech step back wards fuel injection .You can’t beat a barrel of a Webber dropping fuel directly into each cylinder . Current Macan has flappy paddles as did my X6 , wife’s Q3 ….never touched em .The PDK (or Bimmer eq ) did all the work . I honestly just can’t see how a PDK , flappy paddle box despite all the “ kings new suite “ mouthing off one hears brings anything to the involvement party .Sure in the cam shaft arms sipping your pint your car beats on paper the next guys at the lights . With a Tip which is a slush box I wouldn’t bother . Again never ( hardly ) used paddles in my Bentley GT ….slush box had a 6.0 W 12 though. Even with a boxster being a bit lighter and agile a tip is for city driving basically and future buyers will buy a slush box for thst reason . If they want sporty / involvement then they will seek out a manual hence the false prophecy of somehow recouping £ . Put the £1500 in a bank @5-6 % and leave it there .In the mean time enjoy the slush box ….in traffic . The ar*e is dropping out of the used 2 nd / 3rd car mkt esp Porsche…..madness tipping piggy bank contents into pork at the mo .Madness ! Edited October 30, 2023 by Boxer boy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 11 hours ago, Topbox said: Well it's all subjective but the only reason in my eyes to change to a sports wheel with paddles is because they look better. I have a button wheel and find them easy to use, and really don't understand why people are sniffy about them from a functionality pov, but it's not the best looking wheel I would agree. My 986 Tip came with the thumb shifters, but I found them very awkward to use when pressing on, particularly on tight twisty roads like the Strines where the wheel is at a large angle during changes. The thumb provides a solid grip on the steering wheel and operating the button takes this away. With the paddles, you can operate with the last two fingers which doesn’t affect the grip at all. That probably makes it sound like I’m hanging on for dear life🤣 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zagamuffin Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 To add my 2 cents I have a Tip 3.9 C4S and a manual 986 so got a wheel made to suit both cars . It’s a Porsche GT4 style in Alcantara with black paddles and wheel bits . It was to try and replicate the driving experience in my last 981S PDK. It has changed the driving experience more than I expected and car doesn’t feel slushboxie anymore. can swap onto the manual 986 in ten mins and has adaptors for airbag etc ….. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topbox Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 @Nobbie I think that is a fair point. Nice technique to use third and fourth fingers. I did make a couple of unintentional downshifts in early days until I got use to the buttons. Never considered changing the wheel because of how the buttons work, but I might for the aesthetics if I was feeling flush. Horses for courses I guess. Mind you I thought the idea was to scream down the Strines in second so why would you ever need to change gear 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellers Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 Hi. My understanding (happy to be corrected) is that if you have the multifunction wheel and then swap it for the sports wheel with paddles, then you lose a lot of the multifunction capability. Techart instead have paddles you can add to your original multifunction wheel that fit behind the wheel just like with the sports wheel and they act similarly to the sports wheel paddles with the right paddle to change up and the left paddle to change down. The original buttons are replaced by shorter blanks that I assume no longer change gear but I need to do some research on this first. Some info here: https://www.techart.de/fileadmin/content/PDF/000991626185.pdf See pic attached. A google search for Techart paddle shifters finds a UK supplier at £525 or about $610 - $650 from the usual US suppliers: https://www.design911.co.uk/p/techart-paddle-shifters-retrofit-porsche-9911---981-boxster----cayenne---macan---panamera/ I’m really thinking about going this route with my 981 with the MF wheel but I want to see how I get on with the buttons first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topbox Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 I thought if you swapped to a sports wheel with paddles you fit a another column stalk to maintain the multi-function capabilities ??? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellers Posted October 30, 2023 Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 45 minutes ago, Topbox said: I thought if you swapped to a sports wheel with paddles you fit an another column stalk to maintain the multi-function capabilities ??? I believe not all of the multi-functions can be replicated by the additional column stalk. The volume controls for instance for phone and music. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alank Posted October 31, 2023 Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 Still think the 981 Sports steering wheel is the best looking one, less bitty, billet looking , just right 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.tourette23 Posted October 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 (edited) 17 hours ago, Hellers said: I believe not all of the multi-functions can be replicated by the additional column stalk. The volume controls for instance for phone and music. You can fit one of these in line to restore multifunction, hence why I'm thinking 1500 to do the job properly 👍 https://gpsadapter.us/products/stmv1 Edited October 31, 2023 by mr.tourette23 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.tourette23 Posted October 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 Thanks for the feedback everybody..good food for thought I do get that it will hold its value if I kept the old wheel and swapped back when selling on, can't help but think it's 1500 better in the bank going towards the next car though.. Think I will do the Royals refurb, save some money and just enjoy a better looking modded wheel.. Something along these lines, as much as I'd prefer the flappy paddles I'm comfortable enough with the buttons despite them being a bit clunky 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz05 Posted October 31, 2023 Report Share Posted October 31, 2023 The adaptor is ridiculously priced but again it will hold value, you have so many in the 911 community (997 and 991.1) also looking to do this a future sale should be very easy. Surely £1500 in the bank for your next car is still there you just have it in the goods rather than the bank. Enjoy the experience of your car here and now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.tourette23 Posted November 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2023 11 hours ago, daz05 said: The adaptor is ridiculously priced but again it will hold value, you have so many in the 911 community (997 and 991.1) also looking to do this a future sale should be very easy. Surely £1500 in the bank for your next car is still there you just have it in the goods rather than the bank. Enjoy the experience of your car here and now. Dont get me wrong Daz, it's a mod I would love to do, I think part of the problem is I've never removed a mod from a car in my life, I'm very much a guy that will sell private rather than trade in and the time will come to sell and I know what I'm like, I won't have the heart to remove it and will be thinking it will make it an easier sell privately as better equipped cars sell easier. I actually agree with what you're saying I should do it really and the money would be safe IF I had the resolve to remove it come sale time, If the car was a keeper I wouldn't hesitate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianJ Posted November 1, 2023 Report Share Posted November 1, 2023 My last 981 had multifunction from new (I hated the feel of it) which the OPC swapped to Sports with paddles (+ 4th stalk) as part of my deal when buying the car. I subsequently sold the multifunction on ebay for what I thought was a sensible price. I can't remember how much but it wasn't insignificant and I was somewhat amazed that anyone would want it! I've never had any problem with missing functions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringmaster999 Posted November 1, 2023 Report Share Posted November 1, 2023 On 10/31/2023 at 7:55 PM, daz05 said: Surely £1500 in the bank for your next car is still there you just have it in the goods rather than the bank. Enjoy the experience of your car here and now. I definitely look at it this way. In most cases you don’t loose a penny and might even make a very small profit. Good example on my 981 is the Ducktail spoiler. Prices have gone up so much I’d definitely get my money back and possibly a very small profit 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patt Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 All depends how much you drive in "manual mode" Personally, I drive 99% of the time using the paddles and the lever to select the gears. and it's my daily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raffe Posted November 4, 2023 Report Share Posted November 4, 2023 I had the multifunction wheel which I hated as it’s just too big in diameter at 380mm, swapped out for a new 718 GT wheel with the GPS adapter. Cost about £1700 all in, got a friend who wants it for £1500 if I ever remove from car. it’s transformed the look of the interior making it look much more modern and feels great to use being that bit smaller at 360mm. Recommended upgrade. 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz05 Posted November 5, 2023 Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 Massive upgrade! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zagamuffin Posted November 5, 2023 Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.tourette23 Posted November 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2023 On 11/4/2023 at 5:55 PM, Raffe said: I had the multifunction wheel which I hated as it’s just too big in diameter at 380mm, swapped out for a new 718 GT wheel with the GPS adapter. Cost about £1700 all in, got a friend who wants it for £1500 if I ever remove from car. it’s transformed the look of the interior making it look much more modern and feels great to use being that bit smaller at 360mm. Recommended upgrade. That does look really nice👌 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.tourette23 Posted March 15 Author Report Share Posted March 15 Well after mulling this over and coming across a youtube video of steering wheel upgrades, I've just pulled the trigger on this https://www.porschemaster.com/product/porsche-steering-wheel/ Apparently all buttons work on install so no adaptors required, not a Porsche built wheel but all reports are positive re build quality and looking and feeling OE, maybe a bit of a gamble but Ive had a chat with a few folk that have had them and they all seem super happy. I wasn't particularly thrilled at the thought of parting with 1k plus for a used wheel then needing a 300 quid adaptor to have it work properly. It's en route from the States right now, hopefully install next week and report back. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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